Bucharest's General Council tabled for February 26 a decision to suspend the Zonal Urban Development Plans (PUZ) in five of the city's six districts.

This measure has raised many concerns among local developers that see their projects at risk. The local authorities will grant new construction permits in the city based on the General Urban Development Plan (PUG) endorsed in 2000, explained Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan - who drafted the decision on the City Council's agenda.

No more building permits will be issued for areas used as parks or other green spaces, he stressed, pointing to the proposal's logic: putting an end to the irregularities allowed by the PUZs.

This decision will not hinder the major investments, Nicusor Dan added, quoted by Economica.net, explaining that the public utility projects like schools or kindergartens have either obtained building permits based on PUZs already or will be issued special PUZ documents on a case-by-case basis.

However, his statements failed to address the developers' concerns that the measure will severely impact their activity.

Suspending the PUZs as envisaged by Bucharest City Hall could lead to the postponement or cancellation of over EUR 3 billion investments, the Romanian Real Estate Investors Association (AREI) warned, quoted by G4media.ro.

The organization accused that the City Hall's lack of communication about its plans sends a negative message to both the companies operating in Romania and those prospecting the country for future investments.

With a total of over EUR 3.5 bln of pipeline investment in large-scale projects scheduled for delivery between 2020 and 2023, the real estate market is not the only market impacted by the possible suspension of PUZs, underlines the Bucharest Real Estate Club.

This type of administrative decision lacking transparency sends a negative and distrustful signal to companies in all activity fields, the association warned.

(Photo: Nicusor Dan Facebook Page)

iulian@romania-insider.com